1. Field
One or more embodiments relate to an image forming apparatus capable of forming an image on a recording medium and a cartridge that is attached to or detached from the image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus using electrophotography prints an image on a recording medium by supplying toner to an electrostatic latent image formed on a photoreceptor to form a visible toner image on the photoreceptor, transferring the visible toner image onto the recording medium, and fusing the transferred visible toner image on the recording medium.
A process cartridge is an assembly of components for forming a visible toner image. The process cartridge is a consumable product that is detachable from a main body of an image forming apparatus and replaceable after a lifespan thereof has ended. A process cartridge may have various structures, such as a structure in which a photoreceptor, a development roller that supplies toner to the photoreceptor, and a container portion containing toner are integrally formed, a structure divided into an image cartridge including a photoreceptor and a development roller and a toner cartridge containing toner, or a structure divided into a photoreceptor cartridge including a photoreceptor, a development cartridge including a development roller, and a toner cartridge containing toner.
A cartridge includes a memory unit storing various types of information about the cartridge. When the cartridge is mounted in a main body of an image forming apparatus, the memory unit is electrically connected to the main body to communicate with the main body and may transmit information about the cartridge to the main body. The memory unit includes a contact portion that is electrically connected to a connection portion of the main body.